Computing for the Future of the Planet

The next lecture in the Helsinki Distinguished Lecture Series on Future Information Technology will be given by Professor Andrew Hopper, University of Cambridge, UK.

The lecture is free of charge and open to everyone interested in the latest research in information technology. The lecture will be followed by an informal cocktail event.

Please register by clicking here by Monday, 25 April 2016 (for logistic purposes).

https://www.helsinki.fi/fi/unitube/video/20518

Computing for the Future of the Planet

Abstract

Digital technology is becoming an indispensable and crucial component of our lives, society, and the physical environment.

A framework for the role of computing in dealing with sustainability of the planet will be presented.  The framework has a number of goals: an optimal digital infrastructure, sensing and optimising the physical world with a global model, guaranteeing the performance of indispensable systems, and digital alternatives to physical activities.

Practical industrial examples will be given as well as longer-term research goals.

About the Speaker

Andy Hopper is Professor of Computer Technology at the University of Cambridge and Head of Department of the Computer Laboratory. His research interests include computer networking, pervasive and sensor-driven computing, and using computers to ensure the sustainability of the planet.

Andy Hopper has pursued academic and industrial careers simultaneously. In the academic career he has worked at the Computer Laboratory and the Department of Engineering at Cambridge. In the industrial context he has co-founded over a dozen spin-outs and start-ups, three of which floated on stock markets, as well as working for multinational companies. He is Chairman of RealVNC Group. The companies he co-founded have received numerous Queen's Awards for Enterprise and the MacRobert Award.

Professor Hopper received the BSc degree from the University College of Swansea (1974) and the PhD degree from the University of Cambridge (1978). He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (1996) and of the Royal Society (2006). He was made a CBE for services to the computer industry (2007). He is a past President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (2012). In 2014 the Science Council named him as one of UK's "100 Leading Practising Scientists", and the Sunday Times listed him as one of the "100 most influential Britons of the modern age".